


Watch Me

by iamhighondumbbitchjuice



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, but like this fic is quite literally the definition of hurt/comfort, maybe theyre slightly ooc???, no beta we die like men (but like srsly im sorry for any potential mistakes), they make up lol :)), written as a follow up to ep 8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29841579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamhighondumbbitchjuice/pseuds/iamhighondumbbitchjuice
Summary: Is Reki watching?Langa’s heart suddenly blooms to life as the thought crosses his mind.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 29
Kudos: 164





	Watch Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I wrote this after watching ep 8 and AHH i srsly debated posting this but um yea, here we are. I didn't have a beta for this one, so pls excuse any mistakes, that being said I hope you enjoy!

_Was Reki watching?_

The question resounded at the borders of Langa’s mind, seemingly eating away at his skin. Was Reki watching him as he made a jump and landed back on the ground with practised ease? Was Reki watching him as he, once again, overtook Joe in their race? Was Reki watching as Langa utilised _everything_ Reki had thought him to win? 

_Was Reki watching?_

Reki had to be watching, right? It only seemed logical for Reki to be, his window had been _open_. Langa jumped and felt his blood soar in a rush of adrenaline. _Ah, there it was_ : the sheer exhilaration of being _alive_ , the knowledge that Reki’s arms would be there at the finish line, soft fingertips trailing Langa’s skin while Reki would yell about how proud he was of him. Langa’s heart thumped loudly in his chest as he raced ahead of Joe, the muscle in his chest seemingly regaining life after so many days of quiet. 

Because quiet is what it had been, suspiciously so. Langa’s heart hadn’t felt this elated and fulfilled in days, not since their fight. Reki was here, he had to be. He might be reduced to a shadow leaning into the shade of a rock, hiding from plain sight, but he was _here_. Right?

The acknowledgement of the fact that Reki was probably here propelled Langa to go _faster_ , speeding past the tracks of rocks and sand, leaving Joe far behind. Langa _had_ to win this, he had to show Reki what he could do, he had to push himself beyond his limits, he had to have Reki’s arms around him again, his touch burning those simmering patches of pride into Langa’s skin. He had to have it and he would, no matter what it would take. 

Suddenly, excited cheers broke through his state of determination and it was then that Langa realised that he had come to a standstill, the finish line a few steps behind him. Joe came to a halt next to him, he was breathing heavily as his face morphed into a wide grin. “Good going kid, I didn’t expect you to beat me, but then again, Snow does seem rather keen on surprising everyone, doesn’t he?”

Langa gave a small smile, half expecting warm arms to wrap around him at any given moment, accompanied by nothing but Reki’s shouts. 

Nothing came though: no shouts or arms, no pride, no fingertips that trailed Langa’s blushing skin. 

The loud thumping of Langa’s heart quieted and the exhilaration was gone as soon as it had come, disappearing so quickly that Langa was forced to wonder if it had ever been there at all. 

_Was Reki watching him?_

Probably not.  
And Langa was alone again. 

Langa let his eyes wander across the crowd, disappointment settling in his bones when he kept being faced with people that very much _weren’t_ Reki. 

Until…

For the shortest fraction of a second, two eyes flicked up towards Langa’s face from under the thick hood of a worn hoodie, before they immediately directed themselves downward again. And with that, the sheer elation of _hope_ spread aimlessly throughout Langa’s body, warming his limbs and waking up his sleeping heart as it, yet again, started thumping loudly in his chest.

Those had been Reki’s eyes, and even though they had seemed dull compared to what they used to be, they unmistakably had been _Reki’s_. There was no denying it. 

Langa instantly jumped to action, gripping his skateboard with tight wound fingers and weaving through the crowd before him, everything directing itself at Reki’s eyes. The crowd was dense with people, but Langa managed to get through it well enough. 

Reki’s eyes flicked up at Langa again, but this time the gloss of panic had overtaken them: the kind of panic Langa had only ever seen Reki direct at Adam.

The realisation that Reki was _scared_ of him, to the point that his eyes spawned such unadulterated panic, made Langa falter in his step. This moment of hesitation seemed enough for Reki to make a final decision, because he reached behind a rock and grabbed a skateboard, planting it firmly on the ground before taking off. 

_No._

“Reki!”

Langa shot through the remaining part of the crowd and firmly stood on his own skateboard, pushing himself forward as he went to chase Reki down. 

If this was any other day, Langa would’ve smiled at this show of what almost seemed to be an impromptu race, but it wasn’t. This wasn’t about skateboarding or racing or winning, this was solely about Langa not allowing himself to lose. He wasn’t going to lose Reki, not like this, not with the threat of Reki’s eyes growing even duller dense in the air. 

Reki was fast though, faster than Langa had even seen him go before. Reki knew all of Langa’s strengths and it showed as he moved through the streets with a tense grace. Reki seemed to avoid all cuts and corners where Langa could do a trick to catch up to him, he even made sure that he had the high ground, knowing that they were about equal in general speed. Langa had no chance of catching up, none at all, but he couldn’t afford to give up, tailing Reki to the best of his ability still. 

Until Reki crossed a street and came to a stop on the opposite side of it, he flicked his skateboard up and grabbed it with an opened hand, wrapping his fingers around the rough material. Reki was regarding Langa with the dull eyes of somebody who knew that they had already won: he didn’t look sad or panicked, just genuinely unbothered.

“Our race ends here, Snow.” 

And with those words a rush of cars suddenly made its way through the previously deserted street, forcing Langa to step back. Once the cars had gone, Reki had also disappeared leaving naught but the imprint he had made on Langa’s mind in his wake. 

_Snow_.

That’s what Reki had called him. 

Something wet trailed its way down Langa’s cheekbones. Langa didn’t bother to wipe it away. 

For the first time while skating, Langa had lost. 

\--

It wasn't long before Reki stopped showing up to school altogether.

The days seemed to drag as Langa kept track of the time that Reki hadn’t been at school and before he knew it, it had been a week since he’d last seen Reki. Langa knew that it wasn’t particularly _odd_ for someone to be gone for a week, it could just be a common cold that Reki was suffering through, but Langa also knew _Reki_ and this just didn’t feel right. 

Langa’s guts were twisted in knots as he knocked on the door to Reki’s house, his skateboard leaning against his leg. 

The door opened and Langa couldn’t help but feel a slight nudge of disappointment when it wasn’t Reki but his mother who had opened it. 

“Ah, Langa! It’s you!” Reki’s mother smiled, the broad grin she wore painfully reminded Langa of Reki. 

“Um, hi, is Reki home by any chance?” Langa stumbled over his words as he felt his skateboard shift against his leg. 

“Oh, you must be wondering why Reki hasn’t been to school lately! It’s nothing for you to worry about dear, but since you’re such a sweetheart to come all the way over here, I’ll tell you. Reki just hasn’t been sleeping and he looks… ,” a crease of concern was carved into the skin between her brows, “well, like I said, it’s nothing for you to worry about.” She smiled at him, but it seemed forced. Langa didn’t like it.

“Can I maybe come in to see him?” Langa asked, embarrassed at how his voice seemed to falter mid sentence.

Reki’s mother gave him a firm once over, before a pensive look crossed her face. “Well, Reki has told me that he doesn’t want to see anyone, but you’re his best friend aren’t you? I’ve never heard Reki talk about someone as much as he talked about you.” Reki’s mother nodded. “Okay then, you can come in and see him. He’s up in his room.”

Langa nodded back at her and made his way through the house, knowing the exact route to Reki’s room. When he actually arrived at Reki’s door though, he hesitated, nerves wracking through his body as his heart anxiously beat in his chest.

“I know you’re there, just come in, it’s no use standing there.” Reki’s voice resounded from behind the door, bored and indifferent. Langa didn’t think he had ever heard Reki talk like that, he didn't _want_ Reki to talk like that. Reki’s voice was made for gentle laughter and excited shouting.

Langa stepped into the room, closing the door behind his back. 

Reki looked terrible. 

It was the first thing Langa noticed: Reki’s eyes were accompanied by dark rings, his hair was all over the place, headband nowhere to be found, his skin was _too_ pale and his cheeks far too hollow. 

Reki turned away from him to stare into the darkness of the room. “Oh, it’s you.”

“It’s me,” Langa said, unsure where to start. “Look, I’m really sorry for breaking our promise, I-- _please_ just return to me.”

Reki turned to face him, eyes still dull. “Didn’t I tell you, Snow? Our race has long passed. We are not a match anymore.”

Pain wrecked through Langa’s veins. “ _Stop_ , please, I--of course we’re still a match! You’re everything I can never hope to be, I just--I’m really sorry, okay? Please just give me a chance to fix all this, I promise I can.” 

Reki arched one of his brows, regarding Langa with a dim stare. “I don’t care about the promise. It has nothing to do with me who you choose to skate with.”

Langa approached him, taking a few steps in his direction. “Then what do you care about?” His voice was soft, careful. 

“You, or at least I thought I did. Maybe it’s the others now.”

“The others? Which ‘others’?”

Reki's expression morphed into one of genuine surprise. “You don’t know?”

“No!” Langa yelled, frustrated at his own incompetence. “No, no I don’t.”

Reki laughed, it was loud and it sounded bitter, tainted by something that _shouldn’t be there_ . “Oh, well, that explains a lot actually.”

“What does it explain? _Please_ Reki.”

“It explains why you didn’t notice what was wrong with me.” Reki tapped a finger against his chin and shrugged. “Mhm, I guess I should explain that notion to you, maybe then you’ll understand why we aren’t a match.”

Langa stayed quiet, he already knew that nothing Reki could possibly have to tell him would change his mind about wanting to skate with him, about wanting to _be_ with him, but, Langa also knew that Reki was about to tell him something of importance, a piece of the reason why he was so upset. Langa was all ears. 

Reki sighed, some of the indifference fading from his face only to be replaced by exhaustion. “The others, the other skaters.” Reki started, his voice sounding resigned, he let out a short, bitter laugh, reminiscent of the fit of laughter he had thrown just minutes before. “They all say: ‘Look there he is, the guy that always tags off Snow’s fame’ or ‘He’s so useless, have you seen him skate?’ or ‘What a dumbass, always leeching off Snow’s skills’ or ‘Why would Snow choose to hang out with _him_ , he can’t do anything on the race track.’ or ‘Snow’s so amazing, but who’s that other guy?’ or--” Reki’s voice broke and Langa couldn’t take it anymore. Anger boiled through him, hot and violent at the people that had dared to say such things, but he couldn’t act on it, not now, not with Reki still looking at him with those damned eyes. 

Langa wrapped his arms around Reki and didn't say anything even when Reki began to sob into his shoulder. Slowly, he took Reki to his bed and sat them down there. Still embracing Reki, Langa started drawing small circles of comfort into his skin, resting his head on the crown of Reki’s head, enveloping him in warmth. 

“You know,” Langa said after a while. “For me, when I’m on the race track, it’s just you and me, no one else. I don’t care who I’m up against, I don’t care if it’s Adam or Joe or some other rookie that just joined, the only thing I ever care about is you.” Langa backed away just the slightest bit to hold Reki’s chin in his hand, gently treading his finger over the soft skin there. Reki’s eyes were puffy and red rimmed, but they weren’t dull anymore, not completely at least. “You are my adrenaline Reki, you are the reason I feel _alive_.”

Reki’s eyes widened and he gasped around a sob. “What?”

Langa smiled: wide and open and honest and, _Maybe mom was right when she said I should honestly relay my feelings._ “The reason I enjoy skating is _you_ , Reki, it has always been you. I don’t care if you skate or watch or make skateboards or all of it at once or none of it at all. The only thing I care about is _you by my side_.”

Reki sniffled and _finally_ his eyes started sparkling again. “Really?”

“I don’t care about the others, I care about you, and if that means cancelling the tournament, I will.”

Reki looked off the side, a blush coloring his cheeks. “No, that’s okay, you’ve already signed up and you did great, I saw you.”

“You saw me?” Langa didn’t think he could fit any more hope into his voice. 

Reki nodded, the tiniest smile brightening up his face. “I did.”

Langa beamed at him and Reki went to snuggle into the crook of Langa’s neck. “I don’t know if I can face the others just yet, but I want to see you skate, you’re beautiful when you skate.”

Langa’s arms tightened around Reki. _Reki wanted to watch him,_ the thought was exhilarating and pure bliss. 

“That’s okay,just _please_ stay with me.” Langa untangled them from their embrace to cup Reki’s cheek. “I can’t lose you.”

Reki’s smile grew as he leaned in closer, pressing the lightest kiss to Langa’s own cheek. “You won’t, I’ll stay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this :)) pls leave a comment (if u feel like it ofc) I'd love to read them!!  
> I might also write another fic as the anime comes to a close, so let me know if you'd maybe be up to read that ???


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